The first Test was played in Abu Dhabi and ended earlier this week as a thriller of a match. New Zealand somehow managed to clinch a four-run win over the Pakistani team which failed to chase down a small target of 175 runs in the fourth innings.

Ajaz Patel who was making his debut in that game was adjudged the man of the match for the seven wickets which he took in the match.

But it was their batsmen who failed to get going. The batting collapse in the second innings of the Abu Test is something captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will have to address. It is unlikely they would make any changes to their line-up after just one defeat, which was by a very small margin.

New Zealand got out of jail in that game by snatching a win from the jaws of defeat. Debutant Ajaz Patel's fifer had made it possible to the Kiwis to do this miracle. Going into the Dubai test, New Zealand would know that they have an opportunity to create history as one more win will seal the series for them. The tourists are unlikely to make any change to their unit.

Pitch and weather report

The Dubai pitch played really well in the Test match between Pakistan and Australia last month.

The pitch had something for everyone, the spinners, the seamers, and the batsmen. But mostly, it was flat and batting was not so difficult. The surface hasn't changed, and generally, Test pitches are really good in Dubai.

The weather forecast in Dubai predicts mostly sunny weather throughout the five days of the Test. So, we can expect the wicket to dry up as the match moves forward.

This area provides transparent information about Blasting News, our editorial processes and how we strive for creating trustworthy news. Moreover, it fulfills our commitment to The Trust Project - News with Integrity (Blasting News is not a member of the programme, but has requested to be a part of it - TTP has not conducted a compliance review yet).

We and our partners use technologies, such as cookies, and process personal data, such as IP addresses and cookie identifiers, to personalise ads and content based on your interests, measure the performance of ads and content, and derive insights about the audiences who saw ads and content. For further details, please read our cookie policy. Click on the 'Accept' button to allow these uses or on 'Edit' to get more details and/or reject all or part of them. You can change your mind at any time and change your choices by clicking on 'Edit Consents' at the bottom of the page. If you continue browsing by accessing another area of the site or selecting, for example, an image or a link, you express your consent to the use of cookies and other profiling technologies used by the site.